Ergonomics of the tool handle have existed since the beginning of time. Couple those ergonomics with many other tool considerations such as the manufacturing costs of the tool, variations of the work place environment such as temperature, moisture, and body size of the worker, and then a multitude of tool design problems emerge.
The most common tool handle, and easiest to manufacture, is a round stick. Like a broom handle. It is the cheapest to make as well. This shape is easy to hold, versatile, and comfortable in many situations. But this basic handle shape can turn into an ergonomic disaster, causing pain, suffering, and loss of productivity. A larger handle, or smaller handle, might provide better ergonomic function to certain individuals and thus prevent fatigue and injury. Or a handle with contoured finger grooves could solve many task specific problems. Gloves are made in different sizes: small, medium, large, extra large. But even gloves are not always available in all sizes due to factors such as inventory cost. And likewise for every tool to be made with a custom shaped handle, small, medium, fat, thin, curved, etc., the cost would be prohibitively expensive.
The advantage of this current invention is that many handle forms can be quickly and easily changed to a desirable, more functional ergonomic form. Especially advantageous is that the size in both length and width, and even the contour shape of the handle can be transformed to custom fit an individual worker for their best ergonomic function.
Particularly in the of case of hunting knives, there is a common scenario where a young person is gifted a knife for camping trips, that is rarely used. Then years before the knife blade wears out, the person will grow, mature, and their hands will be too large to fit the knife handle. It would be most practical if a hunting knife handle could be adapted to be longer, and thicker to then fit an adult person's hand. Furthermore, the knife could be again passed down from an older person, male perhaps, to a smaller and younger person as a female with a smaller hand size. The handle could be adapted to be smaller or larger as needed for many years.
For production work, using a knife for example, the handle could be altered to best fit an individual workers hand or best fit to meet specific tasks such as working at shoulder height as opposed to overhead. Knife handle ergonomics are not very important for such tasks as cutting just one tomato in the home kitchen. For this reason handle ergonomics are sometimes ignored. However it is well known that for an 8 hour shift, in occupations such as a butcher, working in the cold, the daily activity can not only be painful, but improper ergonomics can in some workers actually lead to permanent injury to the tendons, joints, and muscles. Productivity at the workplace can suffer due to pain but also result in diminished quality of life.
There are numerous examples from garden tools, kitchen knives, ski poles, to drum sticks, where the issue of getting the ergonomics “just right” is important for maximum performance and avoidance of physical injury.
The current invention provides for a multitude of adjustments which can easily and quickly be “custom fit” to an individuals grip. It allows for experimental trials of creating different handle shapes in accordance to the physical stresses of different tasks, without difficult transformative procedures such as the use of heat or epoxy injections.
The best method to provide a customizable implement handle will be to provide a “kit” comprising of the main tool with a numerous handle segments having various widths, contours, and thicknesses. As opposed to the main implement component, such as a knife blade, which is expensive to manufacture, the handle segments can be made cheaply. And, therefore, a multitude of segments can be provided. These handle segments can be stacked onto the knife or implement tang, like puzzle pieces, in any desired order. Segments can also be turned end for end to provide a vast number of possible handle configurations. The desired handle shape can be rearranged again and again, at no additional cost.